I Am (2011)

37% of critics liked it
(46 reviews)
81% of users liked it
(1,368 ratings)

I AM, a prismatic and probing exploration of our world, what's wrong with it, and what we can do to make it better, represents Tom Shadyac's first foray into non-fiction following a career as one of Hollywood's leading comedy practitioners, with such successful titles as "Ace Ventura," "Liar Liar,"… More I AM, a prismatic and probing exploration of our world, what's wrong with it, and what we can do to make it better, represents Tom Shadyac's first foray into non-fiction following a career as one of Hollywood's leading comedy practitioners, with such successful titles as "Ace Ventura," "Liar Liar," and "Bruce Almighty" to his credit. I AM recounts what happened to the filmmaker after a cycling accident left him incapacitated, possibly for good. Though he ultimately recovered, he emerged a changed man. Disillusioned with life on the A-list, he sold his house, moved to a mobile home community, and decided to start life anew.

Armed with nothing but his innate curiosity and a camera crew, Shadyac embarks upon a journey to discover how he as an individual, and we as a race, can improve the way we live. Appearing on-screen as character, commentator, guide, and even, at times, guinea pig, Shadyac meets with a variety of thinkers and doers--remarkable men and women from the worlds of science, philosophy, and faith--including such luminaries as David Suzuki, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Lynne McTaggart, Ray Anderson, John Francis, Coleman Barks, and Marc Ian Barasch. An irrepressible Everyman who asks many questions but offers no easy answers, he takes the audience to places it has never been before, and presents even familiar phenomena in completely new and different ways. -- (C) Paladin

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 16 min.
Directed By: Tom Shadyac
Genres: Documentary, Television, Special Interest

In Theaters: Feb 18, 2011 Limited
On DVD: Nov 30, 2010
Studio: Paladin

Critic Reviews

Ronnie Scheib, Variety
Whatever leaps of logic yawn in the film's poorly cobbled-together arguments are papered over by its wash of button-pushing images, from regimented soldiers and deadly explosions to flocks of wild geese and sunbeams breaking through the clouds.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
What "I Am" is wanting is a sense that it actually wrestles with anything, that it can stand up to a contrary point of view that the film's 76 minutes are so utterly lacking.
Tom Long, Detroit News
I Am is looking for a little bit of hope in this world. Happily, it finds some. A great deal actually.
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
Happily, the frisky Shadyac does not sermonize. He is a puckish Sherpa to the frontiers of science and faith.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
I'm not an ideal viewer for a documentary like "I Am," which involves the ingestion of Woo Woo in industrial bulk. When I see a man whose mind is being read by yogurt, I expect to find that man in a comedy starring, oh, someone like Jim Carrey.
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
A documentary spin through philosophy, philanthropy and quantum physics.
Jay Antani, Cinema Writer
a well-meaning metaphysical inquiry that hits all the right sentiments but manages precious little substance
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Unfortunately, while Shadyac the person may have gone through a life-altering transformation, Shadyac the director hasn't improved much.
Mike Scott, Times-Picayune
It's admirably optimistic -- and it's hard to argue with free hugs -- but the world is a whole lot more complex than Shadyac seems to realize.
John Beifuss, Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
The feature-film equivalent of one of those 'Coexist' bumper stickers -- you know, the ones where the 'X' is a Star of David, the 'O' is a peace sign, and so on.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
a sweet movie, but an extremely slight one that seems not to notice the banality of its no doubt profoundly felt, anti-materialist worldview ...
Robert W. Butler, Kansas City Star
Looking for proof that humans are hard-wired for compassion and altruism? Look no further.
Steve Ramos, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Despite some beautiful travel photography from cameraman Roko Belic and swift editing by Jennifer Abbott, "I Am" remains a personal diary that leaves the casual moviegoer out of the experience.
Josh Larsen, LarsenOnFilm
I believe Shadyac had a meaningful epiphany. I'm not sure it's that meaningful for the rest of us.
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
An open heart can be a recipe for ridicule, particularly in a culture where consumption is mistaken for a moral imperative.
Josh Bell, Las Vegas Weekly
The truth is that Shadyac's dumb comedies have probably done a lot more to bring happiness to humanity.
Kimberley Jones, Austin Chronicle
It's hard to decide what rankles most: what an astonishing monument to Shadyac's self-absorption I Am is, or how flat-out bad -- incompetent, even -- the filmmaking is.
Brian Tallerico, HollywoodChicago.com
A well-intentioned documentary that is just too unfocused, scattered, and philosophically thin to matter.
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
"I Am" will probably remind you of a Michael Moore movie and of the fluff-ball documentary "What the Bleep," but it's better than that makes it sound.

Read all 19 critic reviews

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Alexander D

Though the film is, at times, a clear presentation of utter tragedy, there is one aspect of the film that truly stands out as tragic itself: the comedy, whether unintentional or intentional, almost constantly seems to undermine the poignant, mature concept of viewing the world… More
Though the film is, at times, a clear presentation of utter tragedy, there is one aspect of the film that truly stands out as tragic itself: the comedy, whether unintentional or intentional, almost constantly seems to undermine the poignant, mature concept of viewing the world differently. We could easily get the intended effect in only three short minutes from listening to Monty Pythonâ(TM)s âAlways Look on the Bright Side of Lifeâ. Next to that is all the unrelated material thrown in for an entire hour, made to look inspiring and uplifting. With all the irrelevant mentions of quantum physics, Darwinism, and biology, I lost count of how many times I yelled, âWhat!?â, as if Shadyac himself could hear me, in just a period of 76 minutes. My mistakeâ"Shadyac unbelievably manages to tie all this nonsense into the plot within the last forty-five seconds of the film. Full Review: http://wp.me/p1Urcx-BI